Goten and Marron
by Bucky
Summary: (Complete)Sometimes the greatest love stories are born from dysfunction. Terrified, 15-year old Marron runs away from home. Three years later, Goten finds her in a shocking circumstance. A story of loyalty, friendship & sacrifice(sequel of Goku and Bulma)
1. Default Chapter

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: FORGIVE ME! I don't think that ANY level of drunkenness can justify the extent to which I go OOC in this first chapter. But the visuals were so funny, I just couldn't resist… The rest of the fic will be the usual drama, the usual love story. Cool? **

SETTING: READ THIS! This is a sequel to GOKU AND BULMA, which was a sequel to PICCOLO AND CHI CHI. If you haven't read either, then to get you up to speed, just know that Piccolo is married to Chi Chi, and Goku is married to Bulma (to find out how all that happened, read the fics). Piccolo was there at Goten's birth and growing up years, thus he is the only father Goten has known. Ok. That sums it up. This takes place 15 years after GOKU AND BULMA. Goten is 19, Trunks is 20, and Marron is 15.

ON WITH THE STORY!

**_Chapter 1_ **

"So… How long have you been working for Capsule Corp?" Goten asked a delicious looking brunette who he'd managed to single out amongst the crowd. To his immense delight, the New Year's Eve party at Capsule Corp. came complete with babes. It hadn't taken him a half hour to finish with the pleasantries and start carousing.

She sipped at a glass of champagne. "Six months. And you?" Her brilliant green eyes were hypnotic. It was like she blinked in slow motion, which helped him to keep his gaze on her face, even though the low 'V' in the front of her dress demanded his attention. _Good thing I've had plenty of practice…_

"Oh, I'm not an employee," he smiled. "I'm a friend of the family."

Her brows lifted in intrigue. "Oh really? How do you know them?"

_Well,_ he thought crazily, _My biological father has known Bulma since he was five, and coincidentally, they're married. So in a sense that makes Trunks, who was fathered by another man, and I stepbrothers, except that my actual dad is a green, pointy-eared alien, so I guess my older brother Gohan is more of a step brother to Trunks than I am since I never called Goku my father…_

"Hmmm?"

He shook his head and went the simplest route. "Trunks and I are best friends."

"Aaahh," she said and gave him a smile then that made his heart do summersaults. He mentally buffed his knuckles on his shirt at the victory. Mentioning his relation to Trunks was always the 'filter 'question, as his 20-year old buddy seemed to be the coveted stud with the ladies. And considering that she still seemed wholly interested in _him_ and not his friend was a sign that things were progressing.

_Nice…_

And then, as if on some twisted cue, her gaze diverted from his face to someone approaching behind him. Before he had a chance to turn, a strong hand yanked his shoulder and spun him around.

It was Trunks. He had a bottle, not a glass, but a _bottle_ of champagne in his left hand and it was sloshing over the sides as he tried to keep his balance. His tie had been loosened, and the first few buttons of his shirt undone. His blue eyes were glazed red with inebriation, and he was beside himself with snickers. The guy didn't drink often, but when it did it was never pretty.

_Agh, Trunks! You know you can't hold your liquor! _

"Goten!" he laughed, his words slurred. "You gotta come shhee this!"

_Remind me again how it is that so many women want you over me? _He glanced back at his lady friend whose expression was more disgusted than impressed. "I'm sorta busy…right now."

Trunks slapped him on the arm. It was a gesture that would have sent anyone else flying across the room and Goten found himself wondering if he was going to spend the rest of the evening protecting people from his drunken friend instead of trying to get a date.

"You don't…understand…" he slurred, getting uncomfortably close to Goten, spilling the pinkish liquid on his shirt.

"Trunks," he hissed between his teeth. "I'm busy!"

"Goku spiked Piccolo's water!" Trunks blurted out, following the words up with a loud guffaw.

THAT caught Goten's attention. "He…what…?"

"No sh-shee-shit. You gotta c-come sheee this."

Goten turned his attention to the fox he'd been chatting with. "If you'll excuse me," he apologized. "I'll be right back…"

She nodded curtly, and Goten let Trunks drag him by the elbow through the crowds towards the small ballroom at the end of the building's east wing. On the way Trunks hooked his other arm around 15-year old Marron, who squealed, and blushed when she saw who it was.

"Come on, Marron. You gotta see this TOO," he said in the same saturated tone. And then slowed his pace as he took in her attire. "Hey. Ya look real niiiice, t'night."

Her shiny blonde hair was curled out at the shoulders, and contrasted sharply with a slinky black dress that showed more leg than material. The first thing Goten realized was that she indeed looked nice. The second thing he wondered was how she got out of Krillin's household wearing that dress. But the third thing that crossed his mind was that Trunks had no place encouraging the girl, as she'd had a hopeless crush on him since age eleven.

As it was, his compliment turned her flush crimson. "See…what?" she managed as she bounced against his bicep.

Trunks just giggled in return. She looked back at Goten, and he simply shrugged. Goten could hear the DJ blasting a techno version of 'Classical Gas' from the hall, and when they entered, Goten's first impression was that he'd walked into a circus.

Goku was curled up on the floor, clutching at his gut as though it would burst. Tears were streaming out of his eyes, and his face was twisted in the most red-faced grimace of laughter that Goten had ever seen. Even the man's heehaws had been reduced to helium-pitched squeaks. He was hysterical.

Bulma was leaning over him, with one hand on her hip and the other one shaking an angry finger in his face. Her rantings could be heard clearly over the throbbing music. "What the hell did you give him, Goku?" she yelled, her words having no effect whatsoever on the laughing man. "Yeah. Real funny, you dumb lug. It won't be so hilarious when he pulls out of it and tries to kill you!"

"Piccolo!" Goten's mother screamed, and he looked across the room to see her shaking her fist at the ceiling. "You get down from there! This is NO way to act at a formal party!"

Trunks collapsed on the floor beside him in a fit of laughter, Marron gasped and flung her hands to her mouth, and when Goten finally looked up he went rigid with shock.

Swinging like a spider monkey from the room's massive ceiling fan was Piccolo, his cape fluttering behind him like a bed sheet. His legs were twitching with the music on beats one and three, instead of two and four, and the lackadaisical grin on his face would have put most comedians out of business.

"This can't be happening…" Goten muttered, dumbstruck.

"Piccolo! I mean it!" Chi Chi yelled.

Piccolo looked down at her as he spun, his big ears catching on his arms as he twisted to keep her in his view. Then he giggled, and Goten thought that it was the worst noise he'd ever heard his dad make.

Gohan came barreling into him. "I heard something was…up…" His eyes bulged, and his jaw dropped mid-sentence as he saw the namek's behavior. _"No way…"_

Suddenly, as if spurred on by the audience, Piccolo started to do the eggbeater with his body, throwing a counter spin on the ceiling fan. The room accessory started to moan and shudder in protest. Suddenly, a bolt popped.

Another one went.

Another…

"Look out! It's coming down!" someone cried.

Before anyone could recover from the shocking visual enough to help, the fan dislodged from the ceiling completely and screams filled the room as it came crashing to the floor, namek and all. Piccolo managed to throw his body on the DJ's equipment, bringing the music to a static scratch halt.

It _would have_ been completely silent had Goku's and Trunks' laughter not jumped up two octaves and filled the entire room. Much higher, and their hysterics would soar right off the scale of human perception…

Piccolo lifted his head and moaned. Goten ran over to him, feeling his face blush in embarrassment for his poor dad. But his mother beat him to it. She was belligerent.

"No substance abuse can excuse this sort of behavior!" she yelled, leaning over him. "You've embarrassed me! You've embarrassed Bulma! You've ruined their ceiling fan! The DJ's equipment!"

Piccolo just stared dumbly up at her, and shook his head as though in an effort to keep his eyes from crossing. Then an ear-splitting grin broadened his face. His cheeks tinged purple as his gaze trailed up and down her body. He slowly lifted himself to his feet. "Mmmmm. _Chi Chi…"_

"No 'Mmm. Chi Chi for YOU, mister-HEY!"

She screamed as he clutched her to him and started nuzzling her neck. She swatted at him unsuccessfully, her face flushing.

Goten and Gohan arrived at the scene about the same time, and saved their mother from the public display of affection. As Gohan circled his arm around her and pulled her away, she huffed at Piccolo, speechless.

"Okay now, dad…" Goten chuckled nervously as he hoisted himself up under Piccolo's arm for support. "Nobody wants to see _that_.

Gohan caught Goten's eye. "You got him?"

Goten nodded and started heading for the door. "Well dad, looks like it's time to go home," he said with a sigh.

Piccolo turned his head and grinned like a boy. "HI son," he said loudly, his deep voice twice as disturbing with the uncharacteristic cheerfulness. "Did you find a girl to kiss you when the clock strikes twelve?"

"No, dad," he said as he eased Piccolo towards the exit. To his relief, Bulma was over talking to the DJ, no doubt arranging to pay for the broken equipment. That meant they only had to make it past Goku who was leaning up against the wall, his earlier fit of laughter just barely starting to subside. Until he saw them coming, that was…

"Ah, man. Pic," Goku said, his voice raw and hoarse. "I don't think I've EVER laughed so hard. I just thought you'd get a little tipsy, but" his words trailed off in hiccupping snickers.

As if in some dim remnant of his sober self, Piccolo glared at Goku. But the psychological daggers only lasted three seconds before he broke, hanging his head and laughing through his nose. "Did you see me up there?" he stammered in between chuckles. "ON THE CEILING?"

Wheezing, Goku slid down the wall in another lapse of control. Goten was surprised the man hadn't yet wet himself.

"Oo-ho-kay, now," Goten consoled as he spurred onward. "Let's get going-"

"Ten. Nine. Eight…" came the countdown from outside, and Goten lost his grip on his dad as Piccolo spun out from under him. Goten turned in time to see him toss Gohan aside as he scooped up Chi Chi in his arms. She was more flushed than flustered, so Goten let them be.

Goku apparently hadn't spent all his energy in hysterics, as he hopped up and tackled Bulma from behind.

"Five. Four…"

Videl came running in. "There you are!" she screamed as she threw her arms around Gohan's neck.

"Two. One. Happy New Year!"

"Great," Goten muttered as everyone around him started kissing. "Just great…" Well, at least he wasn't alone in his solitude. Trunks hadn't had time to single anyone out…_either_… His breath caught in his throat. _Oh, hell…_

Trunks had wrapped both arms around little Marron and was kissing her with all the sloppy expertise of a horny drunk. It was unsettling, and it took a great deal of restraint not to pull them apart.

_Dude, Trunks. That's not cool…_ He thought soberly as he watched the two. _Now your rejection will hurt her twice as much, not to mention Krillin will have your balls if he finds out._

He shuddered. The kissing finally ended, and he resumed his place beside his father.

"I'll carry him home, mom," he said to Chi Chi as she straightened her dress and wiped her mouth, more than a little embarrassed. She rolled her eyes in exasperation and nodded. Goten shouldered his way under Piccolo's arm again. The namek was all but unconscious by now. Goten could only pray that he'd have no memory of this night.

He made his way towards the open balcony at the west end of the room with the heavy fighter slumped over his back. Then as an afterthought he looked back to make sure Trunks was leaving Marron alone. To his relief, she was gone, and his lavender-haired friend was standing there with the standard, post-mack Cool Aid grin on his face.

Satisfied that the evening was finally under control, he hopped up into the sky with Piccolo and headed home.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2 _**

**SIX WEEKS LATER**

Goten weakly lifted himself up on his elbows and winced at a sharp pain in his side. He was sore all over. Looking across the gravity room, he saw that Trunks was in no better shape, laying flat on his back and groaning. They were both twice-ascended, with their gold spiked hair, and green eyes, and bulging muscles…

_Second level! _Super SUPER Saiyans! And Goku _still_ slapped them down like they were rookies.

He looked incredulously at his biological father, who was standing in between them like some Norse God with his floor-length mane, and dominant brow. The Saiyan bounced on his heels a few times and then after taking in the condition of his opponents, relaxed. His eyes disappeared in his smile - a wholly inappropriate expression for such a powerful state, not to mention ridiculous looking - and his hand went up to scratch the back of his head.

"Well, it looks like you two are done for the day," he said with that relentless good cheer.

"Tell me something, Goku," Goten said as he propped himself up into a sitting position. "Two plus two equals four, right?" He said as he jerked his chin at Trunks' laid out form.

Goku shrugged.

Goten continued. "Well, it does. So, how is it that Trunks and I - who, ascended twice over, _combined_, are technically more powerful than you are in your third state - still can't beat you?"

Goku chuckled. "Well squirt," he said, using the pet name he'd had for Goten since he was four, "I was doing this thirty years before you two were even born. You can have all the power in the universe, but without the skill to back it up"

"I've got skill!" Goten said defensively.

Goku's happy-go-lucky smile darkened into a battle-hungry grin. "You ready to go another round, then?" he asked as he crouched down. Trunks sat up at that and quirked an eyebrow at Goten, shaking his head.

Goten tried to get to his feet, and then changed his mind. He sat back down and waved Goku off.

Goku straightened and laughed. "Didn't think so." Then his brows jumped in visible enthusiasm. "HEY! I've gotta give you something, Goten, to take back to your mom and brother."

Something about the way Goku giggled right then reminded Goten of New Year's Eve. "And not my dad?"

Goku's grin turned mischievous. "Oh, I'd keep it from Piccolo, if I were you," he laughed. "I'll be right back." As he took off towards the door, Trunks called out to him.

"Hey Goku! You'd better power down before mom sees you," he said. "You know how it freaks her out to see you at the third level."

Goku froze, and threw a look of immense appreciation at Trunks. "Oh yeah…" Energy released from his frame and he descended all the way down until his spiky hair turned black. "Thanks for reminding me, bud." He waved and was out the door.

Goten knew it had something to do with the day Goku had lost his mind all those years ago. His only memory was a vague one; the smell of the cave and his mother's tears, the trembling of her arms as she wrapped herself protectively around him, and the terror he felt that this man who'd returned and claimed to be his father was going to kill Gohan and his dad…

Vague, but poignant. He immediately turned his thoughts towards the Goku that had played with he and Trunks every weekend since they were little. The one that was never sad; the one whose laughter was both annoying and contagious… He smiled. _The only one who gets away with teasing my dad like a brother, and lives to tell about it…_

Goten looked over at Trunks who had propped his elbows on his knees, rubbing his neck vigorously. Goten got up and joined him.

"So, are you coming to the Barbeque at Gohan's later this afternoon? Everyone will be there," he said.

Trunks started picking dirt out of his fingernails. He looked occupied in a forced-casual kind of way, as though in an effort to avoid Goten's eyes. Goten had the behavior pegged by now. Trunks had been acting withdrawn and distant like this for the past six weeks.

"Nah. I've got…homework to do."

"Uh-huh. That's fascinating, considering that the semester hasn't started yet."

Suddenly the dirt in his fingernails - the likes of which Goten couldn't even see - seemed twice as imbedded as he redoubled his efforts at picking. "Well, you know," he threw a brief, uncommitted glance at Goten. "The 'Pre' stuff."

"Oh," Goten lifted his eyebrows in mock understanding. "The PRE stuff, like figuring out more ways how you can avoid ever seeing little Marron again after New Year's Eve?"

Trunks' eyes widened at the accusation, and then he winced as if at some inner guilt. Finally, he met Goten's ruthless stare, and sighed heavily. "I…I can't face the girl, Goten."

He snorted. _I knew that was it. _Considering who Marron's parents were, the awkward tension made things a little more complicated…

Krillin had moved his family to the same mountain community as Goten when Marron was two-years old, having acquired the same 'employ' as Piccolo from that buffoon Hercule. As a result, Goten had spent most of his life trying to outmaneuver the piggy-tailed tag along. Her temperament and pride were par with a pureblood Saiyan's (or so he had heard), and she was always trying to pick fights with him. Marron, quite simply, was the annoying little sister he never had.

Sure she'd mellowed out somewhat when puberty hit, but then the girl had become obsessed with Trunks and was relentless in her attempts to accompany Goten every weekend to Capsule Corp. When he'd give in and take her, then Trunks was on the other end nagging at him to leave her home, due to her pestering audacity and demand for attention.

One night. ONE, where the teenage blonde with a zigzag personality had looked like a woman, and Trunks' judgment was immediately impaired. Goten went to great lengths to avoid Marron since then, not wanting to be the mediator between the two. Trunks couldn't just ignore her until she went away like he did with the rest of his unlucky admirers. She was Krillin's daughter, for crying out loud. It needed to be resolved the right way.

Goten shook his head and rolled his eyes. "What. Has she been calling you every day?"

Trunks shook his head. "She hasn't called me at all…"

Goten frowned. _Oh, really…?_ Then he shrugged. "To my knowledge, Krillin has no idea that you made a move on his underage daughter, so you're safe there. And if she isn't calling you then I imagine that sloppy liplock you had her in at the party was enough to repel her previous affections for you," Goten reasoned, tired of his friend's reclusive behavior. "A quick apology cleans the air, and that's that, eh? After all, it was just a kiss"

"It was more than a kiss, Goten," Trunks said seriously, eyeing him finally with all the anxiety he'd been hiding earlier. Goten cocked his head.

_He's really stressed about this… _"Ok. It was a 'make out'. I was there, remember?"

"No, you weren't," he said in hushed, desperate tones that sent subliminal alarms sounding off in Goten's head. "You weren't there _afterwards…_" Trunks said as he hung his head in his hands.

Having a notion that this was about to get real ugly, Goten pegged his friend with a glare that would have nailed him to the wall had it been palpable. "What '_afterwards',_ Trunks?"

"The party," he moaned, not lifting his head up. "I was drunk. I wasn't thinking…"

"WHAT happened?" Goten felt his voice raise as an irrational protectiveness surged over him. Suddenly, he realized that in seeing Marron as his brat sister also meant that he cared about her virtue in no small proportion.

"We went up to one of the guest rooms…"

He didn't have to say anymore. With his gut twisting in knots, Goten was up on his feet before he had time to think, with Trunks' collar twisted in his fists.

"You DIDN'T!" Goten yelled, inches from his face.

Trunks nodded mutely, not meeting his shocked glare.

"Good ta hell, Trunks! She's just a girl!"

Trunks eyed him then with all the apology in the world. "Not anymore."

"GAH!" Goten threw him against the wall. "You dick-thinking BASTARD-"

The door swooshed open, and Goten swung to see Goku eyeing them both curiously.

"You decided to continue fighting without me?" asked the man, somewhat disappointed.

The blood was roaring in his ears, and Goten pursed his lips several times in an effort to keep reigns on the invective that frothed at his tongue.

Either Goku was really that oblivious, or he was inoculated against rage, having been the target of it most his life. Either way, he didn't seem to notice the conflict going on. He skipped over to Goten and whipped out a handful of 8x10 pictures, a look of pure delight on his face.

Goten stared mindlessly at the picture on top for several seconds until his fury quelled enough to stop blurring his vision. Then, he choked.

It was a face shot of his namek father, cross-eyed, holding up a peace sign. His fangs were protruding in an exaggerated overbite, while wearing a grin taller than it was wide. "Oh, no…"

"Someone at the party had a camera," Goku said between chuckles. "Keep going. There's more."

Goten hadn't realized that his hands were trembling until he tried to shuffle through the shots. The next depicted the eggbeater incident, his dad's frame in the shape of an 'S' as he hung from the fan. Another with Goten's mom in his clutches, another of him all chummy with a hysterical Goku…

"I can't believe there are pictures…" he said dumbly.

Goku slugged his shoulder. "Take 'em home. You've GOTTA show Gohan."

"What if dad sees them?"

Goku rubbed his hands eagerly. "I almost hope he does…"

"You're suicidal."

Goku shrugged.

Goten tucked the envelope under his arm, and looked up only to see that Trunks had fled the room.

_Wise, my friend,_ he thought venomously._ I may have killed you… _With tremendous effort, Goten powered down.

They would have to 'talk' later.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter 3_**

It didn't help to see Krillin on his front porch as he touched down. Goten forced a smile into his begrudging face and waved.

"Ah! Just the young man I was wanting to see," Krillin said as he stood to greet him. Goten noticed that his cheer seemed strained, and he wondered if what lie beneath the surface had anything to do with the good man's daughter.

"Hey Krillin," he said and clasped his arm in greeting.

"Hi," Krillin said. "You got a sec?"

"Sure…" Goten dropped the envelope of pictures on the steps and leaned against the railing, slipping an unpracticed reticence into place. "What's up?"

"Well, it's…it's Marron," he said quietly, the residual smile doing nothing to lighten the worry in his eyes as he stared, unseeing, at the trees. Goten felt the tension rise to his shoulders, remembering what he'd found out just an hour earlier, and knowing there was no way in hell he could divulge that information…

"What's-" Goten cleared his throat as he feigned ignorance. "Is…is she okay?"

Krillin looked at him then and shook his head while shrugging. It was a gesture that both said 'no, she's not' and 'I don't know what it is'. "Well, you know how headstrong she is," he said, a bit of pride in his tone. Krillin was openly nuts about his kid. Always had been… It almost pained Goten, especially now. Krillin continued.

"Well, she hasn't been herself lately," he said solemnly. "She's been quiet, withdrawn… If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's lost her self-confidence."

Goten pushed images of him pounding Trunks' face in aside. "Really?"

Krillin nodded. "She's been that way since New Year's Eve," he eyed him then. "She came home late, you know," Krillin said. "Not real late, but enough to make me wonder who she was with."

"Hmmm…"

"You know what I think?" Krillin asked.

"What?" Goten held his breath.

"I think Trunks ignored her at the party."

He released it.

"After all that time she spent getting pretty for it." Then Krillin cocked an eyebrow at him. "Did you see her, Goten? Did you see how beautiful she looked?"

Goten's eyes widened and he nodded slowly for emphasis. It was an honest reaction…probably the only one Krillin was going to get.

"Well, anyways, you always seem to put a smile on her face," he said, a comment that made Goten's tear ducts sting.

_Don't ask me to look after, Krillin! I've already failed!_

"So I was wondering if you could spend some time with her, and see if you can help her get over Bulma's boy."

"Of course," Goten said, with more emotion in his voice than he'd planned. "I was…going to do that anyway." It suddenly dawned on him why it had been so easy for him to avoid her the past six weeks. She'd probably been self-exiled to her room all that time.

Krillin visibly relaxed, and smiled at Goten then with a genuine look of appreciation. The man's eyes even watered. "Thanks, pal. I knew I could count on you." He clapped him on the shoulders. "Well, I'd better get over and start helping Gohan and Videl with this Barbeque. Eighteen is already there."

"Okay," he said, and then caught Krillin's eye. "I'll do what I can, Krillin. I mean it."

Krillin pursed his lips, as though to keep them from quivering, and he exhaled audibly. Then, nodding once, he hopped into the air.

Goten stood on the porch, watching him until he disappeared over the trees. He heard the porch creak behind him, but didn't turn around. He knew whom it was even before the heavy, green hand rested on his shoulder.

"Hey, dad," he glanced up at the namek, who was eyeing him with concern.

"Hello Goten."

They stood together in silence for several seconds. Though their personalities were entirely different, his father had mastered the art of observation, and thus could read him like a book. So much so, that it didn't surprise him one bit when the baritone voice broke the silence with a dead on question.

"You know what happened to Marron, don't you?"

Without looking up, Goten nodded.

"It's worse than Krillin thinks…" It was more of a statement than a question. Again, Goten simply nodded. Another silence followed, but this time, Goten broke it. If anyone could keep a secret, it was his father.

"Trunks had sex with Marron at the party." He felt the hand on his shoulder tighten involuntarily.

"I…" Piccolo exhaled. "I see…"

"And Krillin wants me to put her back together, just the way she was," he said, smiling sadly at the thought of the dispirited girl.

"Hmmm." His father looked pensive. "You won't be able to, son."

"I know."

"But you'll try."

Goten nodded.

Piccolo gave him one of those rare, affectionate squeezes on the shoulder. "You have a soft heart, Goten. It's in your nature to care," he said quietly. "And it's in your nature to buoy people up. Krillin's girl may never be the same, but she'll get close if you're there, supporting her."

Goten felt his heart swell. His dad never handed out false compliments. And he was never wrong about a person's character. Hearing his insights on Goten's soul was like having his palm read only to rejoice at his future. "Thanks, dad."

Piccolo turned to go back inside the house when his eyes caught something on the porch. "What's this?"

Goten looked over just in time to see him flip open the envelope and pull out the pictures. He hadn't even had time to snatch them away. "I, uh…well, you…"

The pictures were dropped to the floor, one by one, and Goten saw from behind that his father's shoulders were trembling. A deep, low growl came from somewhere inside of him and Goten clapped his hands to his ears as it exploded from the namek's throat in a furious roar.

Piccolo spun around, his irises having shrunk to the size of pinpricks. "YOU SAID I PASSED OUT!"

Goten cowered. "Well, you did…"

"THEN WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!" He barked as he flung the cross-eyed, goofy-grinned, face shot of himself at Goten.

"A really happy namek?"

Piccolo went feral. Goten was knocked on his butt by the powered-up take off, and his eyes focused just in time to see his dad disappear over the mountain range, heading straight for Capsule Corp.

His mother came running out to the porch in her workout clothes. "What was THAT all about?"

Goten pointed to the betraying pictures strewn about the porch. Chi Chi went around, picking them up and taking in each one. She eyed Goten, her grip on seriousness fading.

Unable to hold it in any longer, they both broke out in a fit of laughter. Goten got up to his feet and leaned over the pictures in her hand. "Did you see the one where he's hanging from the ceiling?"

She nodded vigorously and held up another one where he was palling around with Goku. After the chuckles subsided, Chi Chi shook her head and headed back inside the house.

"Well, I guess I'd better call Bulma and warn her that Piccolo's coming to kill her husband."

* * *

. 

Silently grateful that both her parents were already at Gohan's, Marron spat the remainder of the bile in the toilet and leaned her head wearily on its rim. Looking down she realized that her hands were oscillating in inches instead of centimeters. The sight of her own fear and weakness undermined any remaining strength that she had, and she collapsed on the unforgiving, cold tile, in great sobbing hiccups.

Her vision blurred, then cleared, then blurred and cleared as the tears spilled over and replenished themselves at a disconcerting pace. Her watery gaze fixed on a little plastic contraption that had fallen from her hands earlier; the contraption that showed two lines instead of one.

Two…

…lines…

_Oh, Kami… _

This can't be real… She clenched her eyes shut, her mouth open in a silent scream. _Can't…be…real… _

She had walked away from that night feeling used…discarded…_empty…_ Physically, it was awful. And what it had done to her psyche, terrifying. Everything had happened so fast. She'd been blinded by her crush, the hot temperament that she wore as comfortably as her own skin taking a back step to immense flattery. If only she'd realized it was the alcohol noticing her. Not him…

She didn't even know who she was anymore. Her parents had painstakingly taught her right from wrong, morality from immorality, action and consequence… _And now this! _There was no hiding the transgression if a baby was growing inside of her. And her parents! It would kill them! In their eyes she was perfect…every flaw a character attribute.

The thought of the empathy in her father's eyes stung her heart, and her mother's stern demeanor having broken over the past several weeks in an effort to lift Marron's spirits rent it in twain.

She gasped. _They can't find out. It would destroy them. _

The fear, the embarrassment, the ostracism... Her past sin displayed for all to ridicule and condemn…

_No._ Suddenly she found a resolve in the midst of chaos, and she clung to it for dear life.

_I'll leave. _

The thought made her vitals seems as though they had all bled together. _Oh, how I'll miss them all! _

But the memory of a perfect daughter is better than the reality of a failure. She shook herself and raised up against the toilet, going over a mental checklist of the bare necessities; a money cache in her dad's drawer, a couple pairs of clothing, a bag of food…

Having her first solid, concrete idea in six weeks, Marron fixated on it, every breath spent on bringing it to completion. Now was the time. This very minute. Before she lost courage…

Stumbling from the bathroom in crazed desperation, she gathered her things, and then Marron did something that had never even crossed her mind until a few moments ago.

She ran away.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter 4 _**

**THREE YEARS LATER**

"Here you go, gentlemen," the scantily clad hostess said as she motioned to the table by the window. "Your waitress will be right with you."

With a strained smile, Goten glanced at her face long enough to be considered 'eye contact' and then looked back down at his feet as he quickly sat down. His buddies, Chaz and Miles, sat across from him with all the ease in the world, stretching their arms and blatantly checking out the female employees.

Goten studied his old classmates who had transferred to the same university as he had to get their master's. Chaz and Miles were typical male college students - unshaven, scraggly hair pulled back in ponytails, neutral-colored clothes that looked better on warehouse mannequins than human bodies… And yet the paradox of their appearance - the dead give away that these boys were raised on caviar instead of spam - was their orthodontic, perfect smiles.

Goten looked at his own reflection in the window next to him. _Why can't I just dress down like everyone else?_ he thought, not too thrilled about sticking out in a place like this. Clean-shaven, his thick, obsidian hair was gelled up in one of those spiked, messy looks, and he'd worn his starch-pressed levis with a starch-pressed white shirt. He'd taken extra effort to 'look good' for their club hoppin', only to feel like there was a big yellow sign stuck to his forehead that said, 'I'm a dork'.

_And then they had to bring me here… To Hooters…_

Miles' snickering made Goten look back. His buddies were smirking at him, taking obvious pleasure at his discomfort.

"Shit, bro," Chaz began, chuckling. "You're blushing so hard, your eyeballs are red."

Goten released a breath he'd been holding, and tried to smile. "I've had my head in the books all summer, is all…" he explained as another short-skirted beauty walked by their table with a tray in her hand.

Miles joined in on the good-natured teasing. "_Relax,_ Goten. Guys bond in places like these."

"I know," he conceded, "I'm just accustomed to celebrating my manhood in a more sophisticated manner…"

"Bah," Chaz spat. "It's not like this is a strip joint. Would you rather we had gone to Denny's?"

"Oh, hell no," Miles said before Goten could respond. "I prefer getting in touch with my White Trash heritage by shopping at thrift stores, thank you very much."

Goten snorted. Chaz eyed him and jerked his chin. "So you came a week early to find an apartment before the semester starts, eh?"

Goten nodded. "Since you two didn't have the foresight to include me in your roommate plans."

Miles hit his chest with his fist in a mock gesture of being struck, "Ow, Goten." Then he smiled ruefully. "Seriously, it was lucky we both got in, considering how close it is to campus. You're just S.O.L. for not starting summer semester."

Goten shrugged. "I'll find…" his eyes fixed on a _really_ nice pair of legs, "a…place…" He gaze wandered to the waitress who had walked up from behind him and was walking away now. _Whoa…_

Thick blond hair fell almost to her waist - and it wasn't the 'bleached' look either. It was shiny and full, with a couple braids at her temples pulled back into a 'V' behind her crown. Her face must not have been too bad either, because he could hear Chaz and Miles muttering something about 'please let that be our waitress'. She stopped at the table in front of them, turning enough so Goten got a good show of her bodily profile.

Her figure made the muscles in his gut involuntarily contract. Toned but not bulky, stacked but not anatomically obscene, lithe but not wiry… Goten fought a sudden urge to gnaw on his fist, and noticed as he looked across the table that even his pals' faces were flushed. _Heh,_ he thought. _Looks like we're all victims of spontaneous sensuality with this one…_

Chaz, stunned stupid by the firecracker hottie, turned and said, "Hey darling, how about you get off early, and we'll buy you a drink…"

Goten's eyes widened at his audacity, not to mention the cliché pick up line, and he glared at his friend incredulously.

"I don't drink," came the husky, feminine voice that for some reason sent shivers down his spine. _That voice… _Goten looked up, and went rigid with familiarity. Pretty, angular face, smiling heart-shaped mouth, large chestnut eyes that portrayed more emotion than a Gwennyth Paltrow movie...

The first part of his body that recognized her was his heart, as it nearly stopped beatingn - then his tingling palms, soles of his feet, and finally, _finally_ his brain, which was followed up by shaky vocal cords…

"_Marron?_"

She turned, her stunning features open in astonishment, and she gaped at him with all the rigid panic of a deer caught in the headlights.

"_Dude_," Miles said in a strangled tone, meant to be a whisper. "You _know _her?" Goten would have said something had his mind been capable of a singular train of thought amidst the shock. Instead he just gawked at her, dumbly.

Then, without warning, she bolted.

Goten shook himself, and got up from his chair. "Marron, wait!"

Her movements were a blur as she darted through the restaurant. He barreled after her, nearly flattening a wandering busboy in his path. When he burst into the kitchen, the cooks screamed.

"Where did she go!" Goten barked, and then noting their hesitation grabbed the nearest chef by the apron and got in his face. "WHERE?"

The man whimpered, and his eyes flicked to an exit door back by the refrigerators. Goten dropped him immediately and ran out the back, not caring a lick about tempering his inhuman strength for the bystanders. His eyes combed the dark alley once he was out, taking in more paths and escape routes than he was comfortable with.

He couldn't sense her ki, which meant she'd slowed down. He drove his fist into his palm. _What now? _He craned his neck to look up at the tall buildings around him. Then without further thought, he shot up into the air and landed on one, nearly five stories high. He walked around the roof, discreetly scanning the narrow, shadowed streets.

It wasn't long before he saw her, blonde hair catching the moonlight as easily as a quiet pond. She was crouched down behind a trashcan, peering in the direction she'd come from, no doubt looking to see if he was on her tail.

Goten quietly hovered above her, and dropped down soundlessly behind her with his arms folded angrily across his chest.

Breathing rapidly, she spun to continue her flight…

…and ran smack dab into him. She yelped, but before she could run again, he clamped his hands on her biceps.

"Let. Me. GO, Goten!" she insisted.

He looked at her incredulously as two emotions struggled for control of his thoughts - immense relief and anger. He could have hugged her and wept, but the fury won out.

"Where the hell have you been?" he yelled as he shook her angrily. She apparently didn't appreciate the gesture, because the panicked plea in her face shifted into a scowl and suddenly Goten was dropped on the ground with a knee-buckling pain that fired up his groin and into his abdomen. He gasped.

_I can't believe she just did that!_

Flustered, he looked up in time to see her turn around a corner. Wasting no more time, Goten ascended. Twice. If she was bent on fighting him, then he'd just have to make himself impermeable to her attacks. There was no way he was going to lose her, now. Not after three years of looking…

He sped after her and it wasn't two seconds before he caught her from behind. Even in his vice-like grip, she still struggled. "Dammit, Marron. STOP, will you?" he growled in her ear. "Talk to me!"

A few more seconds and she finally relaxed, looking up at him over her shoulder, slit-eyed. "I'm not too fond of being man-handled, Goten," she grated through her teeth.

"Well, I'm not too fond of manhandling you," he countered, reminded as he held her against him that she no longer had the body of a lanky lad. And it didn't help any that she was wearing the most alluring perfume he'd ever smelled... Goten shook his head to clear it. "Promise me you won't run, and I'll let you go."

She snorted defiantly. "I'm my own person, Goten. I can leave if I want."

He tightened his grip. _Just as feisty and stubborn as ever…_ "FINE."

She flexed her muscles a couple more times and sighed. "Alright! I won't run."

He cautiously relaxed his arms and stood back as she reluctantly turned and faced him - a woman version of the brat kid he remembered.

"Do you realize how long we looked for you!" he yelled. She folded her arms across her chest and frowned down at her shoes. He continued his tirade of daggered questions. "HOW could you do that to your parents? Your DAD?" he shouted. "Do you know how horrible it was to see Krillin cry?"

"You don't understand-"

"What's there to understand? You ran away from your life like a coward! And I don't know HOW the hell you jinxed Goku's instant transmission. He must have tried for six months to find you, each time turning up nothing… You have no idea the _worry_…" he cut himself off when his voice cracked. Goten pursed his lips in an effort to contain the emotion, and ran a shaky hand through his hair. He had missed her almost as much as her parents, and had taken off an entire semester of school just to look for her. It was the reason he'd taken longer than his friends to get his Bachelor's degree…

"It was selfish, Marron," he said when he finally calmed enough to trust his vocal cords. "Totally thoughtless, cruel, stupid"

She slapped him, and he winced. "It killed me to leave," she fumed, her doe eyes wet with anguished ire. "You have no idea what I've been through."

"Then tell me!" he said, and then at her hesitation added, "Or better yet, tell your parents because that's where I'm taking you right now." With that, he bent down and flung her bodily over his shoulder, bracketing his arm across the backs of her knees. She yelled at him and started slugging his back with her fists.

"GOTEN!"

He hopped into the air, and started to fly, grateful that he'd powered up enough to take her hits.

"I can't go back, dammit!" she screamed, her feet kicking furiously.

"The hell you can't-"

"Will you put me down?" she barked. "I'm wearing a Hooter's skirt!"

He frowned against the peeling air friction. "So?"

"SO THE WHOLE CITY CAN SEE MY ASS RIGHT NOW!"

He bit back an angry retort and flipped over so his back was parallel to the ground, leaving her torso to dangle in the wind. "You shouldn't be wearing something like that," he grumbled, trying to ignore how soft her legs were against the inside of his arms. "And just what are you doing working in a place like that?"

"What are you doing GOING to a place like that?" she countered.

"I'm an adult," he mouthed back.

"You're a college brat who is living off his daddy's money!" she yelled. "I have ten times the life experience that you do, so show some respect and PUT ME DOWN!"

"No."

She screamed in frustration and several seconds passed before the following silence was broken. "Goten, I can't leave," she said more quietly, more earnestly. "There's…someone that I'm caring for."

"I could care less about any boyfriend-"

"No, you dumb ass. Someone is_ in my care."_

"Who?"

She paused. "Come back with me," she said, her tone more defeated than frustrated. "and I'll show you."

Goten came to an abrupt stop, and shifted her until she was pinned to his chest, looking up at him in exasperation. "I won't let you put it off, Marron. You have to come home."

She rolled her eyes. "Just let me go, will ya?"

He released her, and flew along next to her as they headed towards the city. She had her 'I'm not speaking to you' face on, and he begrudgingly permitted the silence. They came to some run down buildings with sagging walls, and chipped paint. It didn't thrill him too much that this was where she descended.

He touched down next to her, daring some nearby hoodlums to look at her the wrong way. To his surprise they didn't. She must have seen his face right then, because her comment addressed his concern.

"They don't mess with me," she said. "Learned the hard way a couple years ago, and I haven't had a problem since."

Mental images of Marron kicking some gangster ass made him smile internally, but he said nothing, and continued to follow her into one of the dirty apartment complexes. A couple roaches scuttled across the floor and he cringed as the smell of urine jumped up and hit him in the face like a whiffle-ball bat.

Then he looked at how comfortably she walked into the place, and an atrocious thought popped in his head. "Marron," he shuddered. "Don't tell me you _live_ here…"

"What - you don't like it?" she said as she slid her key in the doorknob and twisted the handle.

Speechless, he entered the apartment. There were almost no decorations, the walls and carpet were stained, and the kitchen looked like it hadn't been remodeled in decades…

Suddenly an older Hispanic lady entered the room, and when she saw him her eyes raked him up and down, appraisingly. He felt the blood rush to his face. The woman quirked an eyebrow at Marron.

"Vaya cuerpazo, mi hija. Quien es? Un novio nuevo?"

_Huh?_

To his surprise, Marron clicked her tongue and answered in the same language. "Es un cabezon pesado que no me deja en paz." She went up and kissed the woman's cheek. "Gracias por cuidarle, Rosario."

"De nada…"

"Was that Spanish?" Goten blurted out. "When the heck did you learn to speak Spanish?"

She ignored him, and peered down the hallway. "Nicky!"

A high-pitched squeal was heard, and Goten jumped as little boy burst into the room, all smiles and giggles. The child stopped abruptly when he saw him, and stared at Goten with large blue eyes that seemed too big for his face. Goten gawked in return.

"My word," he muttered as he squatted down to the child's level and reached a hand up to tousle the boy's lavender hair. The kid grinned at him sheepishly. "I swear, there's like fifty pictures of this kid hanging in Bulma's house," he said, amazed at how much the child looked like his best friend. Goten looked up to Marron. "Who is he?"

As his attention turned to Marron, so did the boy's. As if in answer to his question, the child took two large steps and pounced into her open arms, wrapping his tiny hands tightly around Marron's neck.

"Higheee mama!"

_One… _

Two…

Three…

Three seconds it took for Goten to make the connection, and then he suddenly got very…

_very… _

……..Dizzy…


	5. Chapter 5

**_Chapter 5_**

Marron held her breath as she watched Goten's reaction. It took only a moment for the expression on his visage to shift from tempered curiosity to something much less disciplined.

The blood seemed to drain from his face about the same time that his jaw dropped and his eyes bulged. He took two shaky steps back until the wall stopped him, and he leaned against it as though it were the anchor of reality in a world of surreal. Then his eyelids fluttered as the irises rolled into the back of his head, and he shook himself forcefully, blinking hard.

Marron put Nicky down, and quickly walked over and braced him up. "Goten?" As he looked at her, his body powered down involuntarily. Nicky squealed in delight as Goten's eyes and hair darkened to black.

"Ooooo, Magic!" the child declared, jumping up and down. "Again!"

Marron eyed Rosario, who was still standing there - and by the look on her face, no less impressed with Goten's physical transformation than Nicky - and cocked her head in her son's direction. Wordlessly, the woman went to quiet the boy.

"_Goten_," she said firmly, taking the opportunity to slap his cheek. He winced, the color returning to his face. "Snap out of it. Don't make me regret bringing you here anymore than I already do."

That seemed to work, to her relief, and his chest raised with a deep inhalation, and when he released it, some of the shock seemed to ebb away. Marron grabbed his arm, and guided him to her tattered sofa. "Sit down."

He obeyed, braving another look at Nicky. "I…he…baby…_Trunks' baby_…" He huffed, as if frustrated with his own stammering, and then looked at her in consternation. "You did this all alone," he accused. "By choice!"

She sighed heavily and folded her arms across her chest. Granted, seeing him after all this time seemed to fill a gap in her heart, but… "There's no way I can talk you into leaving, and pretending you never saw me, is there?"

His mouth opened in indignation, and she held up a hand before a few choice swear words were thrown out for Nicky to learn. "Didn't think so."

Without warning, the little tension breaker broke away from Rosario and pounced on Goten's lap before Marron could stop him. Goten startled as Nicky grabbed his face with both hands. "Again! Magic!"

Goten's frozen expression of disbelief softened slightly. He let out a nervous chuckle and shook his head. Marron was about to rescue Goten from her son's affections, but something made her stay her hand.

"Magic, huh?" Goten said as he placed his own large hands over Nicky's smaller ones. "Another time, little man," he reassured. At Nicky's protesting expression, he added, "Don't worry. I won't be going anywhere," he looked deliberately over at Marron and his face turned more serious, "now that I've found your mother."

Marron was unsure right then if the butterflies in her stomach were caused by dread or relief. Either way, she had no come back for it. Rosario came to her rescue, however, and lifted Nicky out of Goten's arms. With a quick wink and smile, she marched him to his bedroom. Goten flung a thumb in her direction, his brow raised in question.

"Who is she?"

"A friend."

"How long have you known her?"

"A couple years."

"Where did you meet her?"

"She was a volunteer at the hospital where I had Nicky." When he opened his mouth for another question, she cut him off. "Her favorite color is red, she likes sherbert ice cream, and no, she's never been convicted of anything."

He closed his mouth and sat back, frowning at her. "You're not getting out of this, young lady. I'll take you both back right now if you-"

"Oh, stop it with the threats already, will ya Goten?"

Before he could answer, Rosario came out and eyed them both contemplatively. "Nicky se duerme," then she eyed Marron. "Este se va a portar bien?" she asked, jerking her chin at Goten.

Marron reluctantly nodded. "Le conozco desde siempre."

"Pues, me voy entonces."

"Vale," Marron answered. "Gracias, Rosario."

"De nada." With a quick wave, Rosario left the apartment, closing the door behind her.

Marron looked back to see Goten staring at her in awe. "What did she say?"

"She wanted to know if you were going to behave yourself."

Goten snorted, and then after looking at her long and hard, he rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. "I don't even know where to begin with you."

"Hmm." She studied her old friend, observing that he was now more man than boy. Marron then noted with an air of amused awkwardness that the preppy look really looked good on him. But it was still good ole Goten - same expressions, same features, same bleeding heart… "Then let's begin with you. What are you studying now?"

He looked up, as if surprised that she had any nerve asking questions at all when he clearly wasn't the one who needed to be interrogated. Then he relented. "Epidemiology. I got into the masters program at the University here, and had come a week early to…find housing."

"Epidemiology, eh?"

"It's the study of-"

"the distribution and distinction of diseases in societal groupings. Yes, I know."

He quirked an eyebrow at her. She shrugged. "I'd planned on going to college, Myself. It only made sense to check out the programs they had at the local one," then a funny memory popped in her head and she found herself smiling. "That's definitely an area I can see you in, though, Goten. Helping others and all. Remember the time you flew a mangled sparrow all the way up to Dende so he could heal it?"

For the first time, the tension seemed to leave his face, and he laughed and looked down. Then, just as quickly, the frown snapped back into place and he glared at her. "The topic of conversation here is YOU, Marron. Stop trying to distract me," he said, then his eyes became sad. "How could you just _leave_ like that?"

She sighed, and under his scrutinizing stare, finally gave in. "My innocence died that New Year's Eve," she said quietly as she curled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs. "You have no idea how used and _dirty_…" She had to stop and swallow the lump in her throat. "I was terrified, Goten. And then to find out I was pregnant…" Her eyes started to sting, and she blinked it angrily away. He scooted closer to her and rested a hand on her forearm.

"You could have stayed, Marron-"

"Don't say that!" she hissed. "Don't make me regret leaving! The last three years have been _brutal_, Goten, and I'll not let you try and convince me that it was all in vain, you hear?" she snapped. "I couldn't have done that to mom and dad."

"So you ran away instead?" he asked relentlessly. "Oh, that's much better. I would imag-"

She'd yanked him up off the sofa at that point and flung him bodily at the door. He looked at her, stunned. "Get out!" she fumed. "It's taken me years to build myself up again. All you're doing by being here is reminding me of how weak and dependent I was." She swiped at the air in an angry gesture. "I left all my baggage behind, and that includes you! GET OUT!"

"Are you kidding?" he asked incredulously, his face matching her vehemence. "Baggage is the only thing you took with you!"

She felt her mouth gape, and shoulders tremble. "_Goten…_"

"Listen, Marron. I'm two seconds away from ending this argument right now and taking you AND your son back home-"

"I'm not a little girl anymore, don't you see that? You can't just yank me around like a rebellious teenager!" Tears of anger, fear, and frustration sprang to her eyes as her heart suddenly ached for her parents…to see them again. And she couldn't push it aside this time. Not with him standing there.

His shoulders sagged, and expression softened. He took a step towards her, his hands open in supplication. "You have to go back, Marron."

"Not like this," her voice caught and she turned her back to him. "Not living in this place, not working at that…meat market," then she spun on him, flinging a finger in his face. "I may have lost my job tonight, thanks to you!"

He shrugged, as if her ability to pay her own bills had no importance. "If you can't face them now, then when?"

"When I've made something of myself," she responded emotionally. "A career that relies on my brains and not my body. Until then, you can forget about it."

He looked pensive as he stared at her, his lips pursing and eyes narrowing. After several seconds, he looked around her apartment in disgust, and then shook his head. "Well, then you're going to start right now by enrolling somewhere."

"There's no time! How am I gonna pay the bills? I was trying to save up-"

"You're quitting your job, and moving in with me. I came to get an apartment anyhow, and might as well make it big enough for the two, er…uh, three of us-"

"Goten! I was doing fine-"

He snorted, and then made for the door. "No excuses, Marron. You've had to grow up way too fast. I'm going to watch over you until you're able to stand on two feet that you're proud of, got it?"

"You act as if I have no say in the matter!"

He opened the door and looked at her solemnly. "You don't."

"You can't just strip me of my independence-"

"I'm helping you obtain it," he said with a finality that permitted no more argument. "I'll be back in the morning, and you better have started packing."

She gaped, speechless, at his audacity. Goten made to leave and then paused in the doorway with one hand on the frame. She watched in curiosity as his head hung, waiting for whatever thought it was that stopped his exit to be expressed in words.

After several seconds, he slowly turned to her, his face missing any trace of his earlier fight. He opened his mouth as though to say something, but instead crossed the distance between them in two giant steps and caught her up in his arms.

She gasped as he hugged her to him, going instantly rigid at the unexpected gesture. It wasn't long before she relaxed, however, nestling her head on his chest and clutching at his shirt. Marron couldn't remember an embrace that had ever felt so warm. It were as though he was transferring to her all the love and support she'd been missing all these years, via osmosis. And it felt torturous, unsettling and wonderful all at once…

"I missed you so much, kid…" he whispered in her hair, and she felt the sincerity in his words as if they were her own. "You were such a pain in the ass when you were around, but when you disappeared…" His voice broke and his grip around her tightened. "I don't think a day has gone by when I haven't thought and worried about you…"

Her throat was too constricted for speech, and Marron found that she was glad, having no idea what she would have said anyhow. He'd already reduced her to tears…

It almost hurt when he finally pulled back, looking down at her with wet eyes. She let him cradle her face in his hands, and tilt her head.

"I know you could run away right now to get away from me, Marron, and I wouldn't be surprised if you're considering it. But I beg you," he shook her gently as the water standing in his eyes spilled over. "Let me help…" he swallowed. "Promise me you'll be here in the morning."

Marron hadn't realized how much her heart had hungered for this… For these very words… Speechless, she nodded. With one last squeeze and a kiss on her forehead, Goten left, closing the door behind him.

Her legs wobbly, Marron sat back down, realizing that he'd somehow managed to break through every single one of her emotional barriers. And it had only taken him minutes…

_Fine, Goten. Rescue me, but you'd better realize that your carefree days of college life are over_, she thought solemnly. _My life isn't a quick fix… _

* * *

. 

Emotionally slammed, and intellectually stupefied, Goten ascended into the evening air, only to sense a familiar presence. Looking up he could make out a black silhouette with its billowing cape against the light of the moon.

_Dad…_

His racing heart calmed, and he almost wept at his father's impeccable timing. _Always there when I need you…_ After a moment's hesitation, he flew up to where Piccolo was hovering quietly, noting as he did so that those heavy, obsidian eyes were watching him with more concern than curiosity.

"Hey dad," Goten said, coming to a stop.

"I sensed your second-level ascension," Piccolo replied.

Goten wiped the back of his hand across his dampened eyes. "Yeah, well, that was the only way I could catch her."

"Who?"

Goten eyed his father with all the severity he could muster. "Marron."

Even the namek's disciplined mask dropped at that news. Goten imagined he hadn't looked much different when he saw her in the restaurant. After several seconds, his father managed to close his hanging mouth, and relax his stretched eyelids. Clearing his throat, he spoke.

"Is…is she well?" he choked.

Goten snorted. "She's surviving. But seeing her was only the first shock of the evening."

Piccolo quirked an eye ridge, and Goten braced himself in case the next news had the same strength-sapping effect on his dad.

"Trunks is a father."

Piccolo seemed to be quicker on the uptake than he had been, as it had only taken_ two _seconds before the namek donned the same choking expression as before. "She's…got a child?"

"Nicky is his name. I didn't ask, but I assumed he was two. Spitting image of his daddy."

Piccolo had been rendered speechless, so Goten continued.

"She won't go home until she 'makes something of herself', and so I'm off to get an apartment for the three of us, and see if I can't help her get up on her feet."

Recovering from the shock, Piccolo nodded. "It won't be easy for you," he said after a moment. "I'll cover your finances, Goten, but you're taking on the responsibility of a woman and child. I imagine it'll interfere with your social life. Maybe even your studies…"

Goten bowed his head and folded his arms across his chest. He hadn't considered that, but it still didn't change his mind. "I know."

"You could call Krillin and Eighteen and they'd be here in an instant to take her home, and you'd be able to keep your life."

"Yes, I could." He knew his dad was playing the devil's advocate - to make sure he thought everything through before committing. He thought of the panic in Marron's face at the thought of her parents seeing her like this, and then he thought about the heady mix of fear and trust in her eyes when he left.

She needed more than the security of home. She needed to be healed spiritually, and if that was only accomplished by his intervention in helping her to build a life, then so be it.

"Just wanted you to be aware," Piccolo said and then clasped Goten's shoulders. "Well, I guess now you can keep your promise to Krillin, and help put her back together."

Goten smiled ruefully, recalling the conversation from three years ago. "I forgot about that, but yeah. I guess I can." The thought of keeping his word to the good-natured man only fueled his resolve to help the girl.

"Be careful about letting her answer the phone. Someone might recognize her voice, and I'll give you fair warning if your mother plans to drop in unexpectedly."

Goten nodded.

A hint of a smile lifted the corners of Piccolo's mouth. "This world is a better place because you're in it, kid."

_Ah, hell_. Goten felt his eyes moisten again, "Thanks dad."

Piccolo clapped him on the arm and with a flourish of energy, took off towards home.

His heart swollen with emotion, Goten watched him until he disappeared against the darkened horizon. Then, with his thoughts in a chaotic tumble, he headed towards his hotel for a sleepless night.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6**_

**ONE WEEK LATER**

"A sound…engineer?" Goten asked in between breaths as he precariously balanced a giggling, red-faced Nicky on his head. "That's…different."

Marron nodded, thumbing through a handful of business cards. "The guy works at a big recording studio in town," she said, wiping blonde wisps of hair from her face. "Every time he comes to the restaurant, he offers me a job. The pay won't be much at first - that's why I couldn't take it before. But it's something I'm interested in, and I've been told I have good ears."

Goten quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Musically," she insisted when she saw his face, "But he said he'd teach me how to work their equipment-"

He snorted as he took in the tight shirt and levis shore wore. "I'm sure he'd be _delighted_ to teach you how to work his equipment." He nodded Nicky off his head and caught the squealing boy in his arms, playfully squeezing him to his chest. The child squirmed in his grasp, apparently loving the attention. It hadn't taken long at all to endear himself to the miniature replica of his best friend, and Goten found that moving in with Marron and Nicky, so far, was a nice change from living with the slovenly undergrads he was used to. Granted, it had only been two days, but still…

Marron shrugged, not taking her eyes off her search. "I can deal with his ulterior motives, so long as he trains me." Then she pulled a card out of the batch. "Ah! Here it is."

Just then, Nicky slugged Goten in the chest with enough force to knock the wind from his lungs. He involuntarily dropped the boy, who to his surprise landed neatly in a crouch. Then he laid into Goten's like it was a punching bag.

"Easy there, little man," Goten coaxed, and squatted down to the high-strung kid's eye level. "I think it's time for you to go play with your blocks."

Nicky's sapphire eyes lit up like it was the most brilliant idea he'd ever heard. His little lips mouthed the word 'Blocks'. Then he found his voice.

_"Blocks…" _

Then his tone went up an octave and cracked. "BLOCKS!" Nicky skidded out of the front room, and peeled into the bedroom down the hall.

Goten exhaled in a nervous chuckle, and tossed an incredulous glance at Marron. "That kid radiates energy like a firecracker in a soda can," he exclaimed. "Hope you were planning on training him to channel that vitality, like your parents had to do with you."

At that, she looked up and smiled, and it warmed Goten's heart to see the pride in her eyes. _I bet you're a great mom, Marron, even given the circumstances…_ Then after a moment of shared amusement, she let the mask fall back into place. Goten sighed.

Most of the time she was unreachable. There were a few instants that she'd let the barriers slip, but he knew it would take longer than a week to ease the tension in her shoulders, or the strain in her eyes. She'd made little comments here and there about women's shelters, and carousing perverts, but none of it was open for discussion. It was like she kept him at arm's distance, and it pained him. Especially considering how close they had once been…

"Well, I start school tomorrow," he said, "so whatever hours this guy plans on giving you, just make sure that it works out with my schedule."

"But Rosario-"

"No need to bother her if I'm here, Marron," Goten said, and the words unvoiced, _You can count on me! _He felt desperate to give her a sense of security in her insecure existence. But to do that, she had to let him in, and eventually trust him.

She stood to her feet and placed her hands on her hips, a frown drawing her brows tight in the middle. "You have a life, remember? Studies, friends, girlfriends-"

He opened his mouth to protest, but she kept on talking.

"The only charity I'll take from you is free room and board, got it? And that's only because you strong-armed me into it," she said, shaking a finger at him. "Then hopefully after a few months I can do this on my own. You don't need to get swallowed up in my dysfunction, Goten, so just stop trying to save my world."

His defiance was cut short when the phone rang. He eyed her with a glare that promised a later argument, and went to go pick up the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Goten!"

He choked. _Trunks! _He glanced at Marron nervously, relieved to see that she'd gone back to shuffling her business cards back in order. He turned his back to her.

"Hey. What's up?" he said, trying to sound totally natural.

"Dude. Guess who's tying the knot?"

Goten could tell by the tone in Trunks' voice that it could be none other than the ladies' man, himself. The next words came trumpeting out before he could stop them. "You're getting married!"

"Can you believe it?" came the excited tone.

"To Sasha?"

"Yep."

"Oh…" Goten was breathless. He thought about the vivacious girl Trunks had been dating for the past several months. She seemed to have it all - beauty, brains, background, career… They got along. Bulma even liked her, and that was a first. It made sense, he figured. It was just that… "I hadn't pegged you for one to settle down so soon, man."

"Yeah, me neither." Goten thought he heard traces of uncertainty in Trunks' tone right then.

"Wow." Goten dropped his voice. "You sure about this, bro?"

There was a pause, then a deep inhalation, "I think so."

"When?"

"April."

"That gives you eight months to know."

"Yeah."

A silence followed, and Goten found himself wondering how long it was going to take before Trunks showed up on his doorstep in a panic. Goten knew him better than anyone, and 'freak out' he would. It was just a question of when…

"Well," Trunks finally said. "I've got to finish making calls."

"Alright, man. Well, congratulations."

"Thanks."

They said their goodbyes and Goten hung up. Then he remembered who had been sitting behind him. _Marron…_ They hadn't broached the topic of Trunks yet, and he wasn't sure how she still felt about the guy.

He turned slowly only to see that the mask she'd been wearing had been wetted down by an uncontained anxiety; lips parted in an unvoiced question, brows raised slightly, her large expressive eyes staring at him like he was a doctor coming to tell her she had breast cancer.

Seeing her without her usual reticence stunned him, and for a couple seconds he just stared stupidly back.

"Was that…Trunks?" she asked quietly, her voice filled with an uncharacteristic dread. "Getting married?"

Goten pursed his lips and nodded.

The blood seemed to drain from her pretty face, and her eyes fluttered.

"Marron?" Goten took a step towards her and touched her arm, willing her to look up at him.

Instead, she clutched at her stomach and bolted down the hallway to her room. The door closed, and Goten heard the lock click. Her reaction had been so violent that he just stood there, taking it all in. How could Trunks still hurt her, after all this time? He considered leaving Marron to work whatever it was out with herself.

But then he visualized the look on her face. It wasn't just distressed. It was unhealthy. He marched after her, throwing a side glance in Nicky's room to make sure the kid was occupied. Reaching the door, he pressed his face up to it.

"Marron," he said quietly, but loud enough for her to hear. "Open up."

Silence. Goten felt a pang in his chest. Seeing her like this made him hurt, worried, and protective all at once. He fought a sudden urge to go kick Trunks' ass just like he had three years ago. "Marron-"

"Go away," came the strained voice, more of a wisp than a whisper.

Goten grabbed the doorknob. "Please…"

Another silence.

Bracing his hand on the lock, and the other on the knob, he gave it a small push, dislodging the metal contraption from its hold. The door eased open, and she spun around, brief indignation in her expression.

"Agh, Goten! You are so invasive!" she hissed, and then winced, clutching at her gut. "Just leave me alone."

He knelt down next to the bed leaning his elbows on the comforter. "You're in pain, Marron."

"I'm fine."

"No you're not."

She looked at him in exasperation. "You're not going to help me gain my independence by babying me!"

He ignored her. "What's wrong?"

She tried to turn away, but his grasp on her leg permitted little movement. He stayed by her side, pegging her with a glare until finally she huffed and rolled her eyes.

"It's an ulcer."

_At eighteen? Oh, Marron…_ Another pang of empathy left him with stinging tear ducts. "How long have you had it?"

She pursed her lips and looked away from him. "Couple years."

"Why didn't you have it healed?"

She frowned at him. "What makes you think I was able to afford insurance?"

"I mean Dende," he said, sitting on the bed next to her. "It would have taken you one trip to the Lookout…"

"They would have sensed my ki if I flew," she said, defeated, then she turned from him, hiding her face behind a veil of sunray hair.

Goten sighed. "You're so stubborn." He ignored her slit-eyed glare right then. "Well, you'd better call Rosario to come watch Nicky," he said. "Because I'm taking you right now."

* * *

. 

Goten tapped down on the tiled surface of the Lookout with Marron in his arms. The trip over was silent, but surprisingly not awkward. It gave him a chance to hold her - something he'd been aching to do ever since that night he found her. And she had obliged by wrapping her arms securely around his neck and nestling her head on his shoulder. It seemed as though she were soaking in his comfort under the cover of necessity of not using her ki.

He set her down gently, but she still clung to him.

"I'm nervous," she whispered in his shirt. "It's been so long, and the way I left-"

"It's just Dende and Mr. Popo, Marron," he reassured. "They'll keep your secret."

As if on cue, the Guardian and his assistant emerged from the dome-shaped structure. They started out walking, but their pace quickened into a run as they recognized whom she was.

Dende, tall and lanky, made it to them first, and Marron reluctantly faced him, smiling ruefully. "Hi Dende."

"Marron…" he breathed, his eyes saucer-wide. He did something then that Goten had never seen the namek do before.

He gave her a hug. Goten found himself remembering all the days he'd spent at the Lookout when he was younger. And naturally, Marron always tagged along. Of course the Guardian would have missed her. He watched her grow up, too. "You didn't use your ki," he began, still stunned. " We looked for you-" Then his brow wrinkled, as his hands touched the skin on her arms.

"You're hurt…"

Before either she or Goten could explain, a feint yellow aura surrounded them both, and Dende's face dropped in concentration as he healed her right there, on the spot.

When he released her, Goten noticed that she stood more upright, and there were tears in her chestnut eyes. "Thank you, Dende."

"Where have you been?" Mr. Popo asked, finally catching up to them.

Marron eyed Goten, and he could almost trace the reservations in her face. Then he nodded subtly, and met Mr. Popo's concerned gaze. "Let's go sit down."

* * *

. 

"I see," Dende said, his face portraying all the anxiety and worry that Goten had been feeling the past week. Marron hadn't been any more generous with the details the second time around, and Goten couldn't figure out if he was relieved, or frustrated.

"Well," the Guardian continued. "That would explain why Goku wasn't able to find you."

"What?" Goten asked.

"She was pregnant," Dende explained. "There were two entities in her body when Goku was only looking for one."

"Is that it?" she asked. "I always wondered why he never showed up."

Something in the way she said it made Goten wonder if she had secretly hoped that Goku would have found her, and forced her to go back home. As though her running away was little more than a cry for help.

"Well, we'll keep your secret on one condition," Dende said. "You tell your parents in six moons, whether you feel ready or not, alright?"

Marron hesitated, and then pursed her lips, nodding reluctantly.

Goten was silently grateful that Dende was able to get a promise out of her. Standing to his feet, he nodded at the Lookout's residents. "Well, we'd better get back," he said. "I've got school in the morning, and who knows how much longer Rosario will be able to handle Nicky."

* * *

. 

Nicky was asleep by the time they'd returned to the apartment, and Rosario had just left. Wordlessly, he and Marron went about their nightly rituals, but Goten could see the tension in her every movement. He found that the need to know her troubled thoughts was itching at him like a weed.

After taking his shower, Goten hesitated in the doorway to his room. Marron's busted door was ajar, and the lights were off, but he didn't believe she was sleeping. Not for a minute. Perhaps against his better judgment, Goten found himself peering into her room.

Marron's balcony doors were open, and she stood leaning against its railing in her long nightshirt, her hair billowing softly with the wind. The way the pale moonlight illuminated her lithe form made him think of a maidenly apparition, stuck somewhere between now and then.

_Leave her alone,_ he told himself. _She wants to work this out on her own._ Truly, he meant to go back to his room. That's why it unnerved him more than a little when his feet disobeyed him completely and walked right up to the railing next to her.

She didn't acknowledge his presence, not even with a perturbed glance. He let the silent seconds pass until he couldn't bear it any longer.

"Talk to me, Marron!" he begged in a strangled whisper. "We were always able to talk."

She looked at him, her expression unreadable. Finally, she sighed and hung her head. "What if you don't want to hear what I have to say?" she asked.

"I'm not going anywhere, Marron. Is that what you're afraid of?" he asked. "You left us, remember? We didn't leave you."

She winced, and he mentally thwacked himself. _Agh. Heal her, not hurt her, you ass. _He softened his tone, and touched her hand. "Just don't shut me out. Please."

She responded by turning her back to him.

He opened his mouth to hound her further, but realized that he didn't have much fight left. After a strained moment of indecision, Goten sighed heavily and turned to go.

"You know," she said quietly, stopping him mid-stride. "I think that deep down inside, I'd always hoped Trunks would find me, and make things right…"

His breath caught in his throat. _She's confiding in me… _He would have leapt for joy had what she said not made the bottom of his stomach fall out. "You…still have a crush on him?"

Marron, turned to him and smiled sadly. "It's a little more complicated than that, Goten, he being the father of my child and all."

"I thought you would resent him," Goten admitted.

"Oh, I did. But it takes two. My predicament is as much my fault as his."

"So you…love him?"

She frowned and shook her head. "No. Never did. However, the residual infatuation still lingers, only now it's skewed by the fantasy of a fairytale ending."

Goten was stunned by her concession. There was no amp up, and he hadn't even had to pry. It just came tumbling off her heart-shaped lips.

"When I heard he was getting married," she continued, "it was like the one happy ending that I dared to hope for had been cut off from me."

Goten finally found his voice. "There are more paths to happiness than just that one, Marron."

She faced him then, and he saw an entire lifetime contained in those eighteen-year old eyes. Suddenly, Goten got what she'd been trying to tell him all along. He was the kid here, not her.

"I suppose so. The problem is that no one has ever replaced him."

"You mean you haven't…dated…in all this time?" Goten asked, finding it hard to believe, considering she was so… Well, there was no other way to put it. Marron was straight up gorgeous.

She shook her head. "Being pregnant, I had enough to deal with, and then when Nicky came around, he was my life. It wasn't difficult to ignore the looks, or banter away the flirtations with casual flippancy. I think I became sort of numb to it all."

"Oh…" Now that she was finally opening up to him, Goten had no idea what to say. She turned around and leaned on the railing again. He stood a couple feet behind Marron, watching her in the pursuing silence. If he'd broken his promise to her, and revealed them to Trunks before his engagement, then her dream just may have come true. He knew Trunks well, and imagined his friend would have been chivalrous and tried to make things 'right' - especially after seeing Nicky. The kid pulled on Goten's paternal strings, and he wasn't even the father.

"Did he even care, Goten?" she asked abruptly, the distant hurt in her eye closer to the surface.

Goten snorted. "Of course he did. He felt terrible. He didn't even defend himself when I kicked his ass after you ran away."

Her eyes crinkled in amusement. "You beat him up?"

Something about the way she looked at him right then made the blood rush to his face. He recalled the pummeling he gave Trunks under the pretense of practice, ending with the words, 'You'd better help me find her'. The whole incident had caused tension in their friendship for over a year. Marron was a subject they couldn't even bring up - as sore and tender as a recent bone break.

Recollection over, Goten finally nodded.

The crinkle in her eyes lifted the corners of her mouth. Goten found himself looking sheepishly down at his toes. "So, uh, how about dreaming up some new endings, eh? I know it's cliché, but you really do have your entire life ahead of you," Goten said, glancing up only to see a perfect smile broaden her face. It was the best expression he'd seen on her yet.

"I'm starting to think that being found by you wasn't such a bad thing after all," she said.

"It's about time you came around," he bantered back, suddenly wondering if any of her new dreams would include him by her side. Then he wondered where the hell that thought came from.

Goten tried to shake himself of the uninvited suggestion, and its accompanying visuals. He was unsuccessful. _Time for me to go…_

"Well, uh, g'night, Marron." A curt nod and he fled her room before she even had a chance to say it back.

Closing his door behind him, Goten leaned back against it with his eyes closed. He found that it was real tough to stay objective about Marron's future while fighting this weird unmanageable urge to kiss her…


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7** _

**SIX MONTHS LATER**

The newly promoted sound engineer wrestled with her excitement all the way home. Her reservations told her to walk calmly, but her enthusiasm said to fly. So she compromised.

Marron skipped.

Weaving in and out of pedestrians, she felt awfully lucky that the studio paid for the skill and not the diploma. She'd proven herself, and they had more than doubled her pay. It was an official career now, and just in time, too. Tomorrow was the day she was going home to see mom and dad for the first time in three years.

_Three years…_

She could hardly wait. It made all the difference in the world finally having gained confidence. Marron had made more of herself in the past six months than in the entire runaway years combined. And it was all thanks to a certain old friend. If Goten hadn't found her…

Her thoughts trailed to the handsome, ebony-haired grad student who despite all her protests, had strong-armed his way into her life. He batted aside her emotional baggage with ease, and worked on the person she could become.

_The person I am, now…_

With her goal finally reached, Marron was suddenly overwhelmed by a deluge of emotions - gratitude being the most distinguishable, but it was befuddled by sentiments much more complicated, heartfelt, confusing…

So she ignored them like she'd been doing for the past several months, and focused on good ole manageable appreciation. She could hardly wait to tell him. Turning the corner, she saw their building loom up before her and she doubled her pace. Once inside, Marron took to the stairwell to ascend the multiple levels by flight instead of elevator.

She burst into the apartment to find Goten in one of Nicky's two-armed headlocks on the floor.

"Hey…Marron," he choked. Nicky released him and jumped up to his feet.

"Mama's home!"

Marron braced herself as her two-year old bruiser routinely leapt into her arms and kissed her cheek. "Hi, mama!"

"Hello, angel," she said, feeling a grin split her face.

"I had Goten in a," pant pant, "…a neck lock!"

Marron laughed. "A HEAD lock, son. You had him in a headlock."

"YEAH!" Then he squirmed out of her arms and landed with a thud, going over to play trampoline on their sofa.

Goten stood to his feet and straightened his clothes. "Hey," he said as he smiled at her. Then he must have seen the look on her face, because his eyes widened in curiosity. "What is it?"

Marron chewed her bottom lip, and squealed. "They promoted me!"

"What? Already?" he asked, mirroring her excitement.

Marron nodded vigorously, and hopped in place.

He held his arms out. "That's great!"

She barreled into him with an embrace that would have pinned any other guy against the wall. Instead, Goten caught her up and spun her around. Marron was so excited that she imagined she would have hugged his neck right off his shoulders had he not been so strong.

"They gave me a huge raise," she squealed in his collar, "and said I had more natural talent than anyone they'd ever seen! They're even putting me on an orchestral recording next week…"

His laughter filled her ears. And it was genuine laughter. Not amusement at her giddiness, nor a forced response, but a sincere happiness for her happiness. It was the best feeling in the world, and for the first time she was able to step outside of herself and realize how much he really did care about her. Suddenly, all those feelings that she'd been ignoring for the past several months bombarded her senses, rendering her careless. She pulled back with her arms still draped over his shoulders, and looked up into his beaming face.

"I love you, Goten!"

The words just came blurting out. No warning. No premeditation. She wasn't even sure what she meant by them, but there they were. Out on the table. As open for interpretation as scripture…

The smile seemed to freeze on his face, while his eyes fluttered with other concealed emotions. His arms around her loosened until his hands rested hesitantly on her sides. He apparently didn't know what to make of her declaration either. Marron felt her face flush, and just as she was about to excuse herself and go jump off the balcony, a little tumble weed attached itself to their legs.

"BIG LOVES!" came Nicky's little voice, as he giggled up at them, anxious to join in on the embrace. Breaking the tension, Goten chuckled at him, and then looked back at her, more at ease.

"I love you too, kid," he said good-naturedly. Fraternally.

Marron didn't realize that she'd been holding her breath until she exhaled. _Ok. That's a safe deduction. Like I'm-his-kid-sister safe. Good. _She sighed.

Then why was she so disappointed? And while she was hounding herself with unanswerable questions, why couldn't every aspect of who she was be in harmony? Had she pulled her circumstance out of a chaotic tumble only to lose her feelings in its place?

Marron dropped her wavering attention to Nicky, who was smiling up at her gleefully. Breaking away from Goten's magnetic pull, she dropped down and picked the boy up, squeezing him to her. He giggled, and then pulled back holding up two fingers, his face suddenly very intense.

"I'm two yearsh old," he declared.

Marron nodded, eyes wide for emphasis. "Yes, you are."

"I'm…I'm awwmost th…thhhh…," he half-raised a third finger, trying to keep his little thumb clasped on his pinky. "…awmost thwee yearsh old!"

"That's right, Nicky."

Immensely proud of himself, Nicky grinned and dropped to the floor. With a hop, he took off running down the hall and into his room. She shook her head. The boy had more nervous energy than a puppy.

Goten laughed. "You were just like that when you were his age, you know," he said to her.

She quirked an eyebrow. "I was not."

He grabbed her shoulders and pegged her with a stare. "Yes," he chuckled. "You WERE."

"…really?"

He snorted, and nodded his head slowly for emphasis.

She laughed. "Imagine that…"

"I don't have to imagine it. I was there," he bantered back, irises sparkling in jest.

She shrugged, suddenly distracted by how the dark-lashed prettiness of his eyes only seemed to enhance the masculinity of his face. Clearing her throat she dropped her gaze to have it fix uncomfortably on the way his heavy chest muscles swelled under his collarbone. The blood rushed to her cheeks unexpectedly, and she looked to the side for relief, only to further lose her grip on her schooled indifference as his broad shoulder and muscled bicep loomed in her face.

_Damn…_

"Well, I think we should celebrate," he said.

She shook herself. "Hmm?"

"Your promotion! We should go out."

She frowned at him. "But isn't this your buddy night?"

When he'd first taken her in, she insisted that he dedicate at least one night a week to his social life to ease her guilt. He'd done so, seemingly reluctantly. And recently he canceled more often than not. It worried her. It was just a matter of time before his pals stopped bothering, all together. And then he really would be bogged down with just her and Nicky.

He shrugged. "I'll cancel."

"Goten…"

"They'll be around next week."

"And if they're not?" she said, frowning at him. "I told you before that you didn't need to get swallowed up in my life. The last thing I need is for you to resent me later because your friends ditched you."

He walked over to the phone as if he hadn't heard her, and started dialing.

"Goten!"

He held the receiver up to his ear and winked at her, mouthing the words, 'We're celebrating!'

She threw her hands up and turned away from him before he could see her scowl lose out to a grin. Marron sighed. She wouldn't mind going out tonight. The residual joy from her promotion still had her pretty amped.

"Hey Miles, it's Goten…yeah…listen, dude, something came up and I won't be able to make it…no, I…well…I know…tell her I'm sorry."

Marron turned around. _Tell who?_

"Ok. I will. You too. Late." He plopped the receiver down, and clapped his hands, rubbing them together. "Alright. Now there's this restaurant I've been dying to check out, and a new club downtown that opened up last weekend… Oh! And they're playing Fiddler on the Roof at the Performing Arts Center."

Marron's gaped at him, speechless. _He's taking me on a full on date…_

"Call Rosario to watch Nicky," he urged as he strode past her and headed down the hallway. "I'll take a quick shower."

She just stood there after he disappeared into the bathroom, trying to quell the growing giddiness that threatened to digress her maturity level all the way back to fifteen. It wasn't until she heard the shower turn on that she started to move. As she reached for the phone to call good ole Rosario, it rang, startling her.

Tempering her patience, she let it ring the four times for the answering machine to pick it up. As Goten's voice played over the recording, she realized that after this weekend, she wouldn't have to let it ring anymore. Everyone would know she'd been found. No more hiding.

_I can hardly wait…_

The machine beeped, and suddenly a bubbly, feminine voice pulled her out of her reverie.

"Yeah, Goten. Julie here." There was a false enthusiasm in her tone that raised the hair on Marron's arms. "Listen, I don't appreciate being stood up. However, since you're SOOO cute, I'll let you make it up to me tomorrow night. After all, Chaz says you're in desperate need of an escape from that ball-and-chain dropout living with you." Giggle giggle. "Call me!" Click.

Marron rocked back on her heels, feeling the words like a blow to the gut. She tried in vain to throw her emotional barriers up, but it was too late. The damage had been done. Tears sprang to her eyes as she felt all the self-esteem she'd gained in the past few months ebb away.

_No no no! I'm stronger than this!_

Marron began to pace the floor as the familiar panic threatened to undermine her sanity. Fear of rejection. It was what made her runaway three years ago, and it was what gave her the same idea now. _I shouldn't be here. I have no right to his life, _she thought crazily. _And I shouldn't have let him into mine._

Then she realized that she could be independent now, with her new salary. She didn't have to rely on Goten anymore.

_Ball-and-chain drop out…_

Marron winced. But she'd made something of herself, dammit!

_Ball-and-chain drop out…_

She had! A sudden warmth of tears spilling down her face spurred her into action, and she marched to her room. _I'll give him back his freedom,_ she thought determinedly._ We'll move out._

Fighting the needling depression with motion, Marron pulled out a suitcase from under her bed and, quite simply, started to pack. She could hear Nicky playing in the room next to hers, grateful that his mind was too young to comprehend the extent of her sorrows.

The squeak of the shower faucet made her stop. She looked down at her half-packed luggage, stupefied.

_What am I doing? _She had nowhere to go yet, and tomorrow was the day she was going to show up on her parents' doorstep for the first time in three years… Marron wiped the back of her hand across her eyes. _I can't do this now!_

She heard the bathroom door open, and held her breath as Goten blurred by her room. Then she exhaled between pursed lips.

_He didn't see me..._ She had no desire to explain her sudden panic to him, and tried to do away with the evidence before he saw. Hanging her head, Marron quickly started to unpack.

"What are you doing?"

She jumped. Peering around the doorframe, with his wet, spiky hair was Goten. A cocktail of confusion and frustration crinkled his brow, and his darting gaze hopped back and forth between her and the half-packed luggage. He walked into the room, then, barely clad by a towel hanging off his hips. He frowned down at her. "What's going on?"

With her defenses already hammered by the phone message, Marron had no filter prepared for the effect his wet, sculpted body had on her senses. Several seconds passed as she just stared mutely up at him, unable to redirect her gaze. Sweet, compassionate, do-gooder Goten looked like he'd just walked out of a male model calendar. And the fact that he seemed totally oblivious to his sex appeal made it much, much worse.

_Kami…_ Marron covered her eyes with one hand, and flung a finger in the direction of his room. "Go…Get…Dressed…Goten," she panted urgently, surprised at the raspy rawness of her own voice.

"But-"

"NOW."

It wasn't until she heard his footsteps patter out of her room that she brought her hand away from her face. _Well, that sure as hell blindsided me,_ she thought crazily. As she tried to slow her heartbeat, his voice echoed down the hall.

"What were you doing?" he asked again.

She ignored him and continued to unpack. About thirty seconds later he popped up in her doorway, no less disheveled, but clothed. "Why were you crying?"

She silently cursed her puffy eyes. "Goten, it's time for Nicky and I to get our own place."

"What?" he asked incredulously. "Where did that come from? Ten minutes ago you were ecstatic, and suddenly you're in tears threatening to move out? What happened?"

"Nothing," she said without looking at his eyes. "You've done your part in helping us out, and now it's time for you to get your life back. Like it was."

"Something triggered this, Marron," he said. Then his eyes widened briefly and narrowed. "Someone called. I heard it," he said as he spun around and went to the front room. "Is that what made you upset?"

She jumped up and ran after him. "Goten! That's not it-" The answering machine's beep stopped her. She winced at the girl's daggered words as they were replayed, thinking that it was strange how they were no less painful the second time around.

When it finished, she saw Goten clench his hands at his sides and the muscles of his jaw jumped. He turned his head slowly and looked at her. "She's wrong, Marron."

"Doesn't matter," she said, trying to keep the quiver out of her tone. "I had planned on moving out anyhow, Goten. You've sacrificed enough already."

"I've sacrificed nothing!"

"Your friends… That _chick…_"

"How can they be sacrifices when I'd rather be with you?"

"My life is all patched up now, Goten. You don't need to-" She stopped mid-sentence. _Did he just say…_?

"You're not a project to me, Marron. You never were." His face softened and he walked up to her, dipping his head until their eyes were level. "You and Nicky are worth more to me than all of their friendships, combined," he said earnestly, circling his arms around her. Against her reservations, Marron found herself relaxing against him.

"So please don't ditch me the first chance you get," he muffled in her hair.

She soaked up his warm embrace, marveling at how her self-esteem was already billowing back up. His effect on her was nothing short of miraculous. But there was something nagging at her. Something that made her think there was so much more he wasn't saying. She could have moved out, now. It would have made sense, and as her friend, he should have been encouraging her to trek out on her own instead of remaining dependent on him. Right?

"What…do you want from me, Goten?"

He stiffened slightly and several seconds passed until he pulled back enough to lock stares with her. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully, making his shadowed irises seem twice as large. She suddenly became very aware of his touch.

"_Everything_," he whispered.

She felt the cool air on her eyes as they widened. And it hit her like a slap in the face that he loved her. The way he was looking at her left little doubt. In a split second her heart had managed to thump its way up between her ears, and sensation that formed somewhere in her gut spread all throughout her body, making her palms sweat and feet tickle.

"Oh…" she breathed. "Well, I…uh," she cleared her throat. "Ok."

"Ok?"

A smile curled her lips, and she nodded.

His arms tightened around her. "_Good._"

He bowed his head, and she lifted hers…

_Thud! Thud! Thud! _

"GOTEN!" came a frantic male's voice from outside.

She gasped, and he pulled back, glaring at the door.

_"Trunks!"_ he hissed.

A surge of adrenaline coursed through Marron's veins.

_Thud! Thud! Thud! _

The doorknob twitched and she flung herself against the wall behind it just as the door swung open. A lavender-haired man in a business suit strode into the apartment, slamming the door shut as he entered. Marron was only grateful he didn't look back when he did so. Seeing him from behind was unsettling enough.

He walked up to Goten, whose wide eyes were fixed on nothing but the man in front of him, lest an escape glance reveal her location.

"Goten! I'm FREAKING OUT!"

"You…you are?" Goten asked.

"It's two months away, and every time I look at her I don't see excitement and romance and 'love'," he complained "Instead I see responsibility, and 'permanent', and boring, and…Agh!" He ran his hands through his hair, and looked like he was about to start pacing.

Marron went completely rigid. _Blend with the wallpaper. Blend with the wall_, she thought in a mantra. _I AM the wall…_

Trunks continued, his arms waving in frantic gestures. "I mean, she makes sense. It sounds right, and looks good on paper, but…" He grabbed Goten's collar with both hands, "What if I abandon her down the road, after we have kids and dog, and a house payment…"

For the first time since he entered, Marron saw Goten's expression narrow from panicked surprise to earnest concern. "You're not your father, Trunks. You're nothing like him."

"No?"

"No."

Trunks tilted his head back and looked at the ceiling, his voice growing soft. "Can you see me doing this, Goten? Really? Because I'm having a real hard time of it."

Suddenly their attention was diverted by a squeal sounding from the hallway. Marron flung a hand to her mouth as she eyed Goten, whose face was filled with dread.

_Nicky!_

The bouncing boy came running into the room and threw both hands around Goten's knee as he peered up at Trunks.

_This can't be happening,_ Marron thought crazily. _I must have died and this is hell._

She could barely make out Trunks' profile, but it was enough to see confusion twist his mouth and curiosity light his eyes.

Trunks looked at Goten and then back down at the child. "Who's…this…?" Then he must have noticed the similarities right then because his expression changed. Drastically.

Nicky ventured out from under Goten's shadow, his large blue eyes sparkling with intrigue. He held up a small hand with two fingers displayed. "I'm two yearsh old," he said.

Trunks didn't acknowledge the comment, but he did drop to his knee, his expression perplexed, disbelieving, unsure… "You look like a Little Me," he said in complete awe, his earlier predicament forgotten. He raised a hand up to feather Nicky's bangs off his forehead.

Nicky grinned hugely, and then held up three fingers. "I'm awmost th…three yearsh old."

"Is that right," Trunks responded mechanically as he continued to study the boy. Then he glanced up at Goten, who looked the perfect picture of a bearer of bad news. Marron held her breath.

"This kid could be my son, for all he looks like me, Goten," he said, still bewildered. "Who is he?"

Goten looked ill. He shifted his gaze deliberately to Marron, and raised his brows in question.

Marron chewed her bottom lip, her heart slamming against her ribs. There was no way out, now. She nodded her head reluctantly.

"He _is_ your son, Trunks," Goten said quietly. Trunks went rigid, and Goten pointed with his chin to where Marron was standing.

The father of her child spun his head around. His eyes widened dramatically, and the rest of his body twisted in an effort to see her better.

She peeled herself away from the wall. "Hey…"

Marron figured it was a good thing Trunks was still kneeling right then, since it put him closer to the floor when he passed out.


	8. Chapter 8

**_Chapter 8_**

Goten inhaled deeply and sighed, cleansing himself of the partial telling of Marron's traumatic tale. "Yep. So that's pretty much it," he said, eyeing Marron across the sofa from him for approval. She nodded. "And here we are," he finished as he looked over at Trunks.

His friend had regained consciousness in moments, but the color in his white-washed face hadn't returned until a half hour later, somewhere around the time when Marron was relating her employment with the studio. Trunks had sat against the wall with his elbows resting on his knees, his expression a mix of anguish and bewilderment. At no point did his eyelids relax, or gaping mouth close. He just sat there, stupefied, as Marron fidgeted awkwardly with her story.

Blinking hard, Trunks shook his head and banged it back against the wall twice, as though to assure himself that this wasn't a dream. "Marron, I-"

"It's done," Marron said in a subdued tone, turning her gaze to the sleeping child in her lap. She apparently wasn't any more comfortable discussing if-onlys or what-could-have-beens than Goten. What was done was done. "I'm going to put him to bed," she finished quietly.

Goten watched her stand with little Nicky in her arms, amazed at how the maternal picture it painted only made her more radiant. Her hair flopped behind her as she walked away, and her lithe, curvaceous form walked upright instead of hunched from the bundle she carried in front. She disappeared down the hallway, and he looked back at Trunks, whose face had finally managed to portray some composure.

"She's…amazing, Goten," Trunks said quietly, his gaze still fixed on the hallway, as though replaying her departure in his mind's eye. The way he said it struck a bitter cord in Goten. It took him a moment to recognize the feeling as jealousy.

"She is," he confirmed, scrutinizing his friend with growing unease.

"And she's beautiful."

Goten felt his lips purse as his heartbeat sped up. "I know," he managed as he winced internally. _I know that look, Trunks! Don't you even think it! _He thought angrily. _You had your chance! _But for all the panic that welled up inside him, he couldn't bring himself to say the words.

"And Nicky," a slight smile curled Trunks' lips. "He must be the easiest kid in the world to love."

Goten felt sick. "He is…"

Trunks looked at him then, too caught up in his own thoughts to notice Goten's obvious discomfort. "Will you give me a moment alone with her?"

Goten opened his mouth to say no, but couldn't get his vocal cords to work.

"To reconcile?" Trunks asked earnestly, a sudden resolve in his eyes that wasn't there before. "I need to make things right."

Goten forced his hands to unclench. How could he say no? An apology. Trunks owed her an apology. And she had every right to hear it.

He reluctantly stood to his feet as Marron entered the room again. Her pretty face frowned in confusion as he walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" she blurted out, and written on her face were the words, _It's too awkward to be alone with him!_

"I'm…going for a walk," he said dejectedly, looking anywhere but her eyes. "I'll be back." Her face was still open in protest as he shut the door behind him.

Descending to the street below, Goten couldn't seem to shake the feeling that leaving his apartment in that moment might possibly be the biggest mistake of his life.

* * *

.

Marron just stared at the door after Goten left, fighting the urge to run after him and drag him back. She wasn't ready to face Trunks alone. The father of her child was the incarnation of her insecurities; embodying her dreams, her fears, her regrets… Her feelings towards him had been so shallow and idealized that she had no idea how she really felt about him.

"You know, I haven't drank since 'that night'," Trunks voice sounded softly behind her. "Not even a drop."

She turned to see that he'd stood up and was approaching her, his expression melancholy. She looked down and fidgeted with the hem on her shirt, trying to fight the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. "Me neither."

"I wish things hadn't happened the way they had," he said as he turned her to face him. She glanced up at his handsome visage, and then broke away as the blood burned in her cheeks. His eyes were penetrating. Intense. Determined…

"Marron, I want to make it up to you."

"Make it…up to me?" she echoed, catching the vibe that things were about to get very, very serious.

"To both of you," he whispered, holding her trembling hands in his. "My dad abandoned us when I was five, and even now my heart still aches when I…remember," he breathed, his pain evident in his words. "I don't want to be like him."

She frowned. "But…you're not…"

"I think fate guided me here tonight, Marron. It all makes sense now. I can see myself with you and Nicky. It feels right."

She blinked, and gulped. Then she blinked again. "What are you saying?"

Trunks suddenly dropped to one knee, looking up at her with an intense sincerity in his moist eyes. "Marry me…"

* * *

.

Goten paced nervously along the night lit streets, barely noticing the stares he drew from strolling pedestrians.

"I can't believe I left her up there with him," he muttered in between breaths to no one in particular. The intimate moment that Trunks had interrupted when he barged in flitted across Goten's mind for the hundredth time in ten minutes. "GAH!" His fist struck out and dented a street lamp. "What timing!"

Just as Marron finally seemed to get over his best friend - the guy shows up, as apologetic and repentant as a sinner at confession. "'Make things right' he said," Goten spat. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

He stopped.

Goten suddenly knew exactly what his conscience-driven friend meant. He'd seen the look on Trunks' face when he left, and kicked himself for not recognizing it earlier. _Oh shit,_ he thought frantically. _Trunks isn't just going to apologize. _

He's going to propose!

With no thought as to what he would say or do once he got there, he doubled up and jetted back to the apartment.

* * *

.

Goten burst through his own door, barely taking the time to twist the knob. He strode into the front room, bracing himself for whatever state he'd find them in.

"This is WRONG!" he boldly declared as his eyes frantically glanced about the apartment. "On SO many levels!"

The lights in the room were off, and so it took him a moment to see her silhouetted against the window, the street lamps from below outlining her body in a soft, pale orange glow. Her back was to him.

"And which levels are you referring to?" she asked in a weird, unfamiliar tone without turning around.

"Which" he spat. "Which levels?" He began to pace, his arms flinging about in abrupt gestures. "Well for one," then he stopped, realizing that someone was missing. "Where's Trunks?"

"Gone," came the silky tone as she turned around. Her expression was still hidden in shadow, but at least she was facing him now.

"Gone as in he'll-be-right-back? Or…gone…gone?"

Marron moved towards him and as she neared he could make out a slight smile on her face. He clenched his fists. _Probably all giddy because she said yes. _The thought was more than disconcerting, but he was nowhere near losing momentum yet.

"So did he propose!" he sputtered furiously.

"Yes."

She closed in on his personal space, and then unexpectedly invaded it.

"Did…you…" he stuttered, distracted by the warmth of her body as she suddenly pressed it against him.

"What did…" He was finding it very difficult to finish his thought as Marron silently slid her hands up his chest.

"Say…you say…"

…and around his neck…

"I mean - _mph…_"

She pulled his face down and silenced his mouth by kissing it.


	9. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

**THE NEXT DAY…**

"Amazing, Goten," Krillin said as he leaned forward in his chair. "Engaged? I had no idea you were even dating."

"Yeah, well," he laughed nervously. "I wasn't. It just sorta happened last night."

"Is that right…"

Eighteen came and sat on the arm of the sofa next to Krillin, her arms folded tightly across her chest. Her expression was reticent, with a tinge of kindness. "How long have you known her?"

"A VERY long time," Goten admitted. "But I just ran into her again six months ago. Believe me, I wanted to bring her home right then, but she wouldn't let me."

Eighteen, who was quicker on the uptake, frowned at the oddities of his story. "Why not?"

"Well," Goten sighed and wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. "Her story is a tough one. She got pregnant at a party a few years ago, and ran away from home because she was afraid of what people would say about her family."

Krillin's and even Eighteen's face contorted in anguish at the thought, no doubt remembering old wounds that had never healed.

"How could she do that to her parents?" Krillin asked. Eighteen just shook her head mutely.

"Being a pregnant teenager has a way of skewing someone's judgment," Goten reasoned. "She thought she was doing the right thing."

"So she raised a baby on her own? With no help?" Krillin asked incredulously.

Goten nodded. "Her son, Nicky, is almost three years old." Then he smiled. "You're gonna go nuts over this kid. He's a spitfire!"

They both smiled, residual pain still crinkling their eyes.

"So what's she like, Goten?" Eighteen asked.

Goten snorted. "She's a survivor, I'll say that. Strong-willed too. And beautiful, and accomplished… She's perfect."

"You sound crazy about her," Krillin commented.

"Oh, I am."

"What does she do?" Eighteen asked.

"She's a sound engineer."

Eighteen's eyes widened, and Krillin nodded mutely, undoubtedly having no idea what a sound engineer was.

"Has she returned home?" Krillin asked, invested in her story for reasons of his own.

"She will," Goten assured. "She wanted to make something of herself before returning home, so her parents could be proud."

Krillin pursed his lips and his eyes watered.

"So when do we get to meet your fiancé?" Eighteen asked, more out of curiosity than an attempt at being social.

Goten smiled, and found himself blinking back the moisture in his own eyes. "Right now." He got up and walked to the front door. With one last glance over his shoulder at the married couple, he swung it open.

Marron stood in the doorway, biting her bottom lip. Uncontained tears had already spilled down her cheeks, her large chestnut eyes glistening with emotion. She opened her mouth to speak, but her throat was apparently too constricted for sound.

Goten was tossed aside by two blurs, and when he managed to pick himself up off the floor he saw the three of them in a hiccupping, sobbing embrace. Satisfied that he'd done his part, he exited quietly out the back door and flew over the thinning trees to his home.

His parents were standing there, waiting for him when he descended. It made him laugh to see Nicky sitting atop his dad's broad shoulders, tugging at his green, pointed ears.

"How did it go?" his mom asked, her eyes still puffy from seeing Marron earlier.

"It's still going," Goten said. "I imagine we won't see her for the rest of the afternoon."

Piccolo grunted as Nicky yanked on one of his antennae. The namek propped his arms back and pulled the boy off, dangling the giggling child at arm's distance. "Hyper little toad," he muttered as he tried to scowl.

"I'm two yearsh old!"

"Hmph."

Goten laughed. "Ready to be a grandpa, dad?"

Piccolo tossed a side glance at Goten, and then looked back at Nicky. A mischievous grin tweaked the corners of his mouth. "I think the question here is whether or not Nicky is ready to be my grandson…"

With that he dematerialized as he sprung up in the air, coming to an abrupt stop when he reached the treetops. Goten could make out Nicky's wide-eyed, frozen face as he looked at the ground below. Piccolo's resounding chuckles could be heard clearly even from where they were standing.

Suddenly, Nicky squealed and a huge smile split his little face as he clutched at the namek's arm. "AGAIN! Do that again!"

Piccolo's eyes widened dramatically, the grin falling flat.

Goten laughed outright as he draped an arm around his mom's shoulders. "I think he'll fit in just fine." His thoughts then trailed to the boy's radiant, strong-willed mother, who had somehow managed to steal his heart while he was trying to heal hers. A sweet ache squeezed his chest - a sensation he'd come to recognize as love.

"I think they both will."

* * *

_**Thanks for reading, guys... **_


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